Department for Transport

Supply Chains

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the article in The House magazine published 7 February 2022, entitled Shelf Preservation Society, if he will publish details of (a) the 32 actions that the Government has taken to support the UK's supply chain, (b) the cost of those actions and (c) his assessment of their effectiveness.

Trudy Harrison: The Government has published details of the 32 specific measures to deal with the shortage of HGV drivers on Gov.uk at:https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/hgv-driver-shortage-uk-government-response/about#stay-up-to-dateCosts of the MeasuresThe cost of processing visas for up to 4,700 HGV drivers for the food industry and 300 fuel drivers were borne by the transport operators and included travel, accommodation and the costs of the visas.The cost of processing endorsements for the fuel drivers was met within existing Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy budgets.The extension of cabotage rights for foreign hauliers in the UK to 30 April 2022 has no direct implementation cost to Government.£500,000 was added to the Mode Shift Revenue Support grant schemeThe cost of the HGV Skills Bootcamps to train just over 11,000 more people to become HGV drivers is £34 million.Large Goods Vehicle Driver and Urban Driver apprenticeships are funded through the Apprenticeship Levy.The closing date for applications for the £3,000 incentive payment to employers who employed an apprentice is 15 May 2022. Therefore, costs are not yet available.Data is not yet available on how many learners have benefitted from the extra funding for adults who completes a vocational qualification in HGV driving through the adult education budget in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. Therefore, the cost cannot yet be calculated.The cost of the Department for Work and Pension’s driver training pilot delivered through Jobcentre Plus is £82,150.Road to Logistics received £1 million in grant funding.Think Logistics received £50,000 in grant funding.The provisional cost of deploying 24 Ministry of Defence driving examiners to conduct vocational driving tests was £281,000 per month for up to 3 months.The measures to make it easier for former armed forces personnel to qualify as HGV drivers was funded through existing Ministry of Defence budgets.The cost of the letter sent to nearly 1 million HGV drivers was £224,509.04 including printing, overheads and postage.The cost of the review of HGV parking and facilities will be a maximum of £360,038.05 (excluding VAT).£32.5 million is being invested in roadside facilities for HGV drivers, such as security, showers, toilets and eating areas.The flexible support fund is an existing budget to help jobseekers and those on Universal Credit reenter the workplace and is available for Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training if appropriate.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Ministry of Defence continue to work together to ensure accurate costs of mobilising military tanker drivers to help make fuel deliveries are captured and re-charged to the haulage industry as appropriate under Military Aid to the Civil Authorities principles and pre-agreed contingency arrangements.The cost of suspension of the HGV road user levy until August 2023 is set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heavy-goods-vehicle-hgv-levy-suspension/heavy-goods-vehicle-hgv-levy-suspensionOther measures such as the relaxation of drivers’ hours, restrictions on late night deliveries, extension of driver qualifications and changes to regulation have been undertaken using existing departmental budgets.Increases in the number of vocational driving tests taken and the number of driving licence applications received provides addition income for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency. These schemes operate on the basis that users pay fees to cover costs.Assessment of EffectivenessThese measures are working to assist reducing the driver shortage and its consequences.For example, the number of available HGV driving tests has increased by over 100% compared to pre-pandemic levels and currently stands at 3,200 tests per week. Test capacity now exceeds demand, and the provision of vocational tests is not a barrier to people becoming HGV drivers. Despite the increase in vocational driving licence applications and licence renewals are being processed within five working days, unless further medical checks are required.Recent assessments by industry bodies such as Logistics UK suggest that the shortfall in drivers is already reducing.

Bus Services: Finance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will announce whether emergency funding for operating bus services will be extended.

Trudy Harrison: An unprecedented level of financial support has been provided to the bus sector by the Government since the start of the pandemic. Over £1.7bn in emergency and recovery funding has been directly targeted at helping operators and Local Transport Authorities maintain services.The Department appreciates the sector continues to face challenges as it recovers from the pandemic. To help address these in the short term, the Department is making available an additional £29m to provide an uplift to Bus Recovery Grant payments this financial year.Discussions are ongoing regarding measures to support the sector beyond April.

Bus Services: Finance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the time taken to announce funding to support bus services beyond 31 March 2021 on the number of bus operators that are giving notice to the Traffic Commissioner to terminate their routes.

Trudy Harrison: The Department is urging operators to avoid pre-emptively deregistering services. Representatives of the bus sector, local authorities and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner agreed to extend the expiry (reversion date) for local bus services currently operating under a temporary variation, from 31 August 2022 to 31 December 2022. Operators in England and Wales may continue applying for temporary variations to their services using the existing short notice periods (7 calendar days’ notice to the Local Transport Authority and a subsequent 28 calendar days’ notice to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner) until 18 March 2022. This has been extended from 28 February 2022.Discussions are ongoing regarding measures to support the sector beyond April.To help support the sector, the Department is providing a £29m uplift to Bus Recovery Grant payments this financial year. This is in addition to the £226.5m initially made available at the start of the scheme in September 2021, and over £1.5bn in emergency funding since the start of the pandemic.

Driving Licences: Applications

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to take steps with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to permit people who do not have a British Passport to renew their driving licence online.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will be expanding its new driver application service over the next year. This will allow customers to upload their own photograph (and signature) instead of using one from a UK passport, as the current service requires. The DVLA is working with the Home Office to create an electronic link to its View and prove your immigration status service. This will allow those with a non-UK passport to be authenticated online and to apply for or renew their licence online.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Delivery Services

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on enabling Royal Mail and other delivery companies to use drones to deliver to more remote areas of the UK, such as in the Highlands and Islands.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to extend licenses for drones, for example allowing drone operators to fly beyond line of sight in non-segregated airspace, rather than in a time-limited temporary danger area.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending time periods for drone trials to help delivery companies like Royal Mail to trial drones as a more permanent delivery option throughout the course of a calendar year.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on (a) allowing drones to operate beyond line of sight in non-segregated airspace and (b) removing the need for a safety pilot to be physically present at both ends of the journey, so that the flights can be monitored by one person remotely, to support delivery companies to use drones as a more permanent delivery option to serve more remote areas of the UK.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Civil Aviation Authority, (b) delivery companies and (c) other Government Departments on the potential merits of more permanent use of drones for delivery to remote areas of the UK.

Robert Courts: Following discussions with my officials in 2021 and with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), trials for Royal Mail were approved and took place in September and October 2021 and are also due to take place in March and April 2022. Government and the CAA are working with and supporting industry to develop the drone industry.The Future Flight Challenge programme is a joint Government and industry investment of £300m to develop new and innovative aviation technologies, such as all-electric aircraft and deliveries by drone. In addition, the Government is supporting specific projects through the £1.2m Drone Pathfinder Catalyst Programme, which will support the integration of drones into UK airspace by bringing together drone providers and end users to demonstrate innovative drone use cases and inform regulatory development.The CAA’s Innovation Hub sandbox also supports the testing and trialling of innovative unmanned aircraft operations and flights beyond visual line of sight to take place in a safe environment and in collaboration with the regulator.Further, the refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. The new Strategy is intended to enable integration, rather than segregation, of new and existing users in the same airspace. Temporary Danger Areas will remain as they are essential to protecting specific temporary activities which cannot be safely integrated, but the current increased use for beyond visual line of sight trials will reduce and ultimately no longer be required.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carbon Emissions

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential of the UK significantly to reduce global warming if it achieved net zero unilaterally whilst other countries did not; what arrangements are in place to verify whether (a) Russia, (b) China, (c) the US and (d) India are pursuing net zero policies in parallel with the programme currently followed by the UK; what estimate he has made of resources of (i) North Sea (A) oil and (B) gas and (ii) shale gas, potentially available to the UK; under which circumstances the Government would begin to exploit those resources; and whether it is Government policy to pursue net zero for the UK irrespective of what other countries do.

Greg Hands: While the UK was the first major economy to commit to net zero, today 90% of global GDP is covered by net zero pledges (which includes Russia, China, the USA and India). We are absolutely committed to delivering on net zero and ensuring the UK is at the forefront of the rapidly growing global green economy.The North Sea Transition Deal sets out how the UK’s offshore oil and gas sector will help deliver on net zero while continuing to contribute to UK energy security, in the last year two new fields were consented.

Energy: Billing

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has in place to ensure that people who are not in receipt of the Government's £200 energy bill loan will be exempt from repayment levies in future years.

Greg Hands: As announced by my Rt hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, the £200 assistance for energy bills will be provided through all energy bills from October 2022. This will be recouped through all energy bills from April 2023. The details for this process are currently being established.

Re-employment

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent businesses using fire and rehire tactics.

Paul Scully: Using threats to ‘fire and rehire’ as a tactic to pressure workers during negotiations is unacceptable. Employers should refer to Acas’ guidance, which sets out that dismissal and re-engagement should only be considered an option of last resort.

Electric Vehicles: Air Pollution

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of electric vehicle use for decreasing air pollution in cities.

George Freeman: The transition to electric vehicles is expected to bring air quality, emissions, and economic benefits. The UK was the first G7 country to commit to phasing out the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.

Energy: Prices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to mitigate the effect of the increase in the energy price cap on domestic consumers.

Greg Hands: We have announced a package of support worth £9.1 billion, which will help over 28 million households. This includes a £150 Council Tax rebate for bands A-D, £144 million discretionary funding for local authorities and £200 energy bill reduction for every household.

Small Businesses

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support local high street businesses.

Paul Scully: We are providing a further £1bn for businesses most impacted by Omicron, in addition to the £400bn package already provided which includes grants, loans, business rates relief, VAT discounts and rent moratorium – providing a lifeline for many local high street businesses.

Productivity

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve productivity levels.

Lee Rowley: The Government is taking the opportunities offered by Brexit to increase productivity, cut red tape and strengthen the business across the UK. We are supporting businesses to grow by helping them access finance, improve skills, and adopt technology.

Energy: Costs

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforming the (a) energy price cap, (b) wholesale energy markets and (c) electricity grid to deliver lower and stable energy costs.

Kwasi Kwarteng: We are considering how our policies should evolve and will continue to be guided by our commitment to meeting carbon budgets, maintaining energy security, and ensuring cost effectiveness.  We will also continue to adopt a system-wide approach in assessing the case for any changes.

Manufacturing Industries

Robbie Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the UK’s manufacturing sector.

George Freeman: Decisions about investment are for private enterprise, with government support through initiatives like Made Smarter and Help to Grow. We are providing a competitive business environment for British manufacturers – attracting investment and securing new high-value jobs in our industrial heartlands.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what targets his Department has for waiting time to receive an assessment with the Veterans' Mental Health (a) Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service, (b) Complex Treatment Service and (c) High Intensity Service following first initial contact with Op Courage.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Veterans: Health Services

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 to further develop the Veterans Trauma Network, what steps his Department is taking to improve that service for veterans.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 115955 on Dental Services, what assessment he has made from analysis of the available data of the challenges facing dentistry in (a) Yorkshire and (b) York.

Maria Caulfield: The data indicates that the challenges faced in dentistry in Yorkshire and York are similar to those faced across England. National Health Service dental provision has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced the number of available appointments in practices due to necessary infection prevention and control procedures. We have made £50 million available for NHS dentistry for the remainder of 2021/22 to allow more patients to obtain an NHS dental appointment. Of this, £8.6 million has initially been made available for the North East and Yorkshire.

Mental Health Services: Cumbria

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to improve the provision of mental health care for children and youths in Cumbria.

Gillian Keegan: North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group has advised that, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been improvements in waiting times and quality of services, especially in community children and young people’s services with a focus on stabilising services.Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System is investing an additional £10.7 million to improve children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. This will deliver a transformation programme in the next three years based upon the THRIVE model of care, including reducing waiting times, improving experience and quality of care, recruiting more primary mental health workers and ensuring young people receive consistent levels of care in the region. There will also be a focus on developing crisis care, reducing the need for young people to be admitted to hospital.In addition to existing mental health support teams in Carlisle, Allerdale and Barrow-in-Furness, further support teams will be established across Cumbria over the next three years. The children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health transformation programme for Cumbria will continue to be delivered by the children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health partnership board.

Mental Health Services: Cumbria

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to improve the provision of mental health care for adults in Cumbria.

Gillian Keegan: North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is improving crisis services for adults with mental health needs through street triage services in Carlisle and West Cumbria. The CCG is also investing in mental health services for people with serious mental illness, including ensuring that physical health checks are completed and services users are given the appropriate community support. The local voluntary community and social enterprise sector is working with service users from disadvantaged backgrounds or areas of high deprivation via a grant funding programme to improve engagement with mental health services and develop a community support plan where required.In South Cumbria, the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System is improving access to mental health assessment for people in crisis and aims to reduce adult inappropriate out of area placements to zero over the next year. There has been an increase in community-based mental health hubs and access to talking therapies, to support mental health and wellbeing and provide low to medium level interventions. The number of community mental health workers has increased, with additional peer support workers in teams and increased home treatment capacity.

Social Services: Disease Control

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support local authorities with social care infection prevention costs after 31 March 2022.

Gillian Keegan: We have provided £1.81 billion for infection prevention and control in the social care sector during the pandemic. We continue to monitor public health advice and data from the frontline to assess what support the adult social care sector needs and will do so beyond 31 March 2022.

Dental Services: North Devon

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people waiting to access NHS Dental services in North Devon; and what steps are being taken to utilise dental therapists within the dental industry to alleviate waiting lists.

Maria Caulfield: Data on waiting times for National Health Service dental appointments is not collected centrally. Appointments for NHS treatments, recruitment and resource planning are managed directly by dental practices. NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England (HEE) are developing proposals to reform the NHS dental contract. HEE is focusing on improving recruitment and retention and identify barriers to more efficient use of the whole dental team in NHS dentistry.

NHS: Dental Services

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that NHS dental services are widely available.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service dental practices have been asked to meet as many prioritised needs as safely as possible through urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care. An additional £50 million for NHS dentistry has been made available for the remainder of 2021/22 to allow more patients to obtain an NHS dental appointment. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals for the reform of the NHS dental contract, working with the British Dental Association. One of the main aims is to improve patient access to NHS care.

IVF: LGBT People

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of IVF treatment for LGBTQ+ people on the financial wellbeing of people from that community seeking that treatment.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. We expect local National Health Service commissioning bodies to commission fertility services in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines, to ensure equitable access in England. NICE guidelines were updated in 2013 to include provision for female same-sex couples. However, the Department has agreed with NICE that the fertility guidelines should be reviewed and scoping for the review has started. The Department also undertook an internal policy review of the variation in access to NHS fertility services in 2021. The review will inform the Women’s Health Strategy, which is due to be published in spring 2022.

NHS: Dental Services

Johnny Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of NHS dentists in (a) Plymouth, Moor View constituency, (b) the South West and (c) England.

Maria Caulfield: In 2020/2021 there were 23,733 dentists with National Health Service activity in England and 2,560 in the South West. Data is not collected at constituency level.

Dentistry: Recruitment

Johnny Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the recruitment challenges in the NHS dentistry sector; and what steps he is taking to support the recruitment of NHS dentists.

Maria Caulfield: Following a three-year review of dental education and training, Health Education England set out recommendations in the Advancing Dental Care Review. These aim to tackle recruitment and retention challenges, attracting more dentists into the National Health Service. These recommendations will be implemented through the Dental Education Reform Programme.The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals to reform the current NHS dental contract, working with the British Dental Association. This aims to improve access for patients and make working for the NHS more attractive for dentists and their teams. The Department is also currently working with the General Dental Council on legislative proposals to allow greater flexibility to expand overseas registration routes open to international applicants.

Health: Equality

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what date his Department plans to publish the health disparities white paper.

Maria Caulfield: We have announced our intention to bring forward a health disparities white paper later this year.  We will set out further detail on the timings of publication in due course.

NHS: Dental Services

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Healthwatch England report entitled What people have told us about NHS dentistry, published on 20 December.

Maria Caulfield: The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England are developing proposals for contract reform and to improve education and training of the workforce in National Health Service dentistry. These proposals aim to address the issues raised in Healthwatch England’s report, including improving patient access, reducing health inequalities and making the NHS a more attractive place to work for dentists.

NHS: Dental Services

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that those who cannot afford private dental care have access to an NHS dentist within a reasonable timeframe.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service dental practices are prioritising patients based on clinical need through urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care. An additional £50 million for NHS dentistry has been made available for the remainder of 2021/22 to allow more patients access to dental care. We are currently developing proposals for dental system reform to improve access for patients.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's target is for the number of care coordinators employed as part of Op COURAGE.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many care coordinators are currently employed as part of Op COURAGE.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average wait time was for an assessment conducted by (a) the Transition, Intervention and Liaison veterans' mental health service, (b) Community Therapeutic Services and (c) High Intensity Services following a person's first contact with Op COURAGE between November 2021 and January 2022.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for an initial appointment with Community Therapeutic Services following a referral from the Transition, Intervention and Liaison veterans' mental health service.

Gillian Keegan: The ambition is that each Op COURAGE service performs the role of care coordinators for the patients that require this element of support but how services deliver this requirement is for local determination.NHS England and NHS Improvement do not hold data of the number of care co-ordinators currently employed as part of Op COURAGE. The care co-ordination role is delivered in a variety of ways to meet the needs of veterans within the service and can be performed across more than one role rather than specific post holders.The table below shows the average wait time for services within Op COURAGE after the first contact by a person. Data for January 2022 is not yet available. Transition, Intervention and Liaison veterans' mental health serviceCommunity Therapeutic ServicesHigh Intensity ServicesNovember 202110 days12 working days4 daysDecember 20219 days14 working days3 days The Government is investing an additional £2.7 million into the Op COURAGE service which will be used to provide additional capacity within the service. This increase in capacity will assist in reducing the time veterans wait to be seen.

Autism and Hyperactivity: Diagnosis

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is to receive a diagnosis in each mental health trust in England for suspected (a) ASD and (b) ADHD.

Gillian Keegan: The data requested is not held centrally in the format requested, for either suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses. Since November 2019, NHS Digital has published experimental statistics on autism diagnosis waiting times from the Mental Health Services Data Set. The current data is based on reporting of diagnoses by mental health organisations who submit data, including some mental health trusts. Community services (where children are typically diagnosed) are not reported in this dataset. With respect to ADHD there is not a single, established dataset that can be used to monitor referrals or waiting times for ADHD diagnosis nationally. NHS Digital are working to improve the quality of relevant datasets such as the Mental Health Minimum Dataset and the Community Services dataset.

Veterans: Health Services

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 to improve personalised treatment by clinicians who understand the military environment and specialise in the type of physical health problems veterans may have, what steps his Department is taking to (a) employ those clinicians and (b) train existing clinicians.

Gillian Keegan: The Veterans Trauma Network uses consultants with military experience who are working within the National Health Service (NHS), either as part of their military role, because they are a reservist or because they used to be a military consultant, to support veterans with service-related physical healthcare needs.Initiatives to train clinicians to ensure they understand the military environment include the Veteran Friendly GP accreditation scheme, which looks to support general practitioners to learn more about the needs of veterans, and the Veteran Healthcare Covenant Alliance which works to ensure that accredited NHS Trusts have a clinical champion, and that staff are aware of the needs of veterans. There is also a free to access e-learning package on Health Education England’s e-learning platform.

Social Services: Recruitment

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support local authorities with social care workforce recruitment and retention funds beyond 31 March 2022.

Gillian Keegan: There are currently no plans for any further workforce recruitment and retention funds after 2021/22. However, we are continuing to work with providers, councils and partners to assess the situation and consider what further action may be necessary.

Social Services: Finance

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional resources will be provided to local authorities to meet their adult social care duties following a poor Care Quality Commission assessment.

Gillian Keegan: Our priority is to empower local authorities to lead improvement wherever possible. We are increasing improvement funding to over £70 million over the next three years to support improvement activity across the sector.We are ensuring support is targeted where it is needed most to tackle particular issues which local authorities may face. This is in addition to expanded universal support which provides resources, materials and training opportunities available all local authorities.

Social Services

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the adult social care data framework in spring 2022.

Gillian Keegan: We are committed to publishing a data framework for adult social care in spring 2022. Prior to publication, we are engaging with stakeholders across the adult social care sector on data needs and the standards that future collections should adhere to, which will be reflected in the framework.

Eating Disorders: Children

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the increase in prevalence of eating disorders amongst under 18s since March 2020.

Gillian Keegan: For urgent cases, data for October to December 2021 shows that 649 children and young people with an eating disorder started treatment, compared to pre-pandemic levels of 353 in January to March 2020. A further 203 children and young people were waiting to start treatment, compared with pre-pandemic levels of 18.For routine cases, data for October to December 2021 show that 2,460 children and young people with an eating disorder started treatment, compared to pre-pandemic levels of 1,850 in January to March 2020. A further 1,918 children and young people were waiting to start treatment, compared with pre-pandemic levels of 543.To meet the waiting time standard, we are investing an additional £79 million in 2021/22 to expand children’s mental health services, including allowing 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services.

Social Services

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has on the development of an easily accessible social care data sharing solution for local authorities and care providers.

Gillian Keegan: Prior to development of this solution, the Department will be undertaking an exercise with the sector in spring 2022 to better understand its data requirements.

Doctors: Cumbria

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of hospital doctors in Cumbria.

Edward Argar: North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust has recruited 123 substantive new doctors and reduced its medical agency usage by 40% in 2021. The Trust has a number of medical recruitment and retention initiatives, such as alternative routes to develop and retain consultant grade staff.The Department is working with Health Education England and NHS England and NHS Improvement to review the distribution of specialty training posts in England, including in Cumbria. This will align specialty training placements to the areas of greatest need in England. We have also funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England.

Hospitals: Visits

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to change covid-19 restrictions for visitors within hospitals.

Edward Argar: Providers are expected to facilitate visits wherever possible and to do so in a way which manages infection risks. Visiting policies are ordinarily at the discretion of National Health Service trusts and other NHS bodies to make an assessment based on the local prevalence of COVID-19 and the specific design of facilities. National guidance encourages providers to actively find ways to ensure visiting can take place. NHS England keeps this guidance under regular review.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 81881 tabled on 25 November 2021 by the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 81881.

Abortion: Domestic Abuse

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to help ensure provision of safe abortion access for women living with abusive partners; and if he will take make an assessment of the potential effect methods of accessing an abortion from a regulated provider on women who live in the same household as their abusers.

Maggie Throup: All abortion providers must comply with legal requirements and have regard to any statutory guidance relating to children, young people and vulnerable adults. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse in adult women and how to respond. They must also have written guidance that staff are aware of, can easily refer to and access to a named lead in the organisation for guidance and advice. In addition, it is a requirement that clinicians caring for women requesting abortion should be able to identify those who require more support than can be provided in the routine abortion service setting, including those who are subject to sexual violence or where there is evidence of coercion.We are considering all evidence submitted to the Government’s consultation on ‘Home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation’. The consultation asked questions relating to the impact on the provision of abortion services for women accessing these services with particular regard to safety. We will publish our response as soon as possible before the end of March, to give providers sufficient notice of the outcome.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 97125 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, what the total cost was to the public purse of storage for personal protective equipment purchased during the covid-19 outbreak.

Edward Argar: The total cost of storage and warehousing from April 2020 to August 2021 was £677.6 million.

Department for Education

Teachers: Sign Language

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure teacher training colleges have enough funding to teach new trainees British Sign Language.

Mr Robin Walker: Initial teacher training (ITT) is predominantly funded by tuition fees (with a small proportion of trainees completing a programme on a salaried route). It is for ITT providers to determine how they allocate the income they receive from tuition fees to training provision.The government does not prescribe the curriculum of ITT courses. It remains for individual providers to design courses that are appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase and context that the trainees will be teaching.Since September 2020, all courses offered by ITT providers have been aligned to a mandatory core content framework (CCF), which was published in November 2019. The framework sets out a minimum entitlement for all trainee teachers and is underpinned by the best available evidence about what works in teaching. The ITT CCF has been designed around how to support all pupils to succeed and seeks to widen access for all, including those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice.

National School Breakfast Programme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have received breakfast food orders this academic year as part of the National School Breakfast Programme.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of scaling-up the National School Breakfast Programme to support all eligible schools with over 50% of students in IDACI bands A-F.

Will Quince: The government is committed to continuing its support for the national school breakfast club programme. It is investing up to £24 million to continue the programme until July 2023. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to assist their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to be taught.The enrolment process is still underway for schools wishing to sign up to the programme. As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools signed up, and 847 schools placed food orders. The department continues to work with its supplier, Family Action, to monitor the data and consider suitable opportunities to share more information on the programme as it progresses.The programme is open to all schools that have 40% or more pupils in bands A-F of the income deprivation affecting children index. This includes state-funded primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units. Further information is available on the Family Action website, which is accessible here: https://www.family-action.org.uk/what-we-do/children-families/breakfast/.The government is supportive of providing free school breakfasts, and of the positive contributions these can make to better children’s wellbeing and learning. Further information on the national school breakfast club programme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/breakfast-clubs-programme-2021-2023.

Mental Health Services: Schools

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have a mental health counsellor or practitioner available to students.

Will Quince: I refer the hon. Member for St. Albans to the answer I gave on 28 January and 2 February 2022 to questions 111496 and 113691.

Teachers: Training

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of mental health training for (a) schoolteachers and (b) lecturers in (i) universities and (ii) colleges.

Will Quince: The government is progressing well on its commitment to offer quality assured training to help develop all state-funded schools and colleges’ approaches to mental health and wellbeing in England by 2025. The department has invested over £9.5 million during the financial year 2021-22.As of 14 January 2022, over 8,000 eligible schools and colleges have applied for a senior mental health lead training grant. On 8 February 2022, the government announced that an additional £3 million has been provided to extend access to training, enabling eligible parties to access training before the end of May. Information on this can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/improvements-seen-in-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.The government provides practical ways to support schools in teaching about mental health and wellbeing through training modules. Details on the training modules can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing. Additionally, the department’s Leading Behaviour and Culture national professional qualification supports teachers to improve the wellbeing, motivation, and behaviour of pupils in the classroom.Higher education providers are autonomous bodies, independent from the government. The government supports various organisations calling for universities and colleges to adopt mental health as a priority, such as Universities UK’s Stepchange and the University Mental Health Charter.

Special Educational Needs: Disability

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Let Us Learn Too and the Disabled Children’s Partnership’s SEND Money Survey published on 7 February 2022, what progress he has made on developing recommendations for the SEND green paper that will reform services to work better for families with disabled children.

Will Quince: The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) review is developing at pace and remains a high priority for this government. The department recognises that the current SEND system does not consistently deliver the outcomes we want and expect for children and young people with SEND, their families, and the people and services who support them.A key priority for the review is to ensure that children and young people with SEND get the right support, in the right place, at the right time. As part of the review, the department will look at what is needed to improve early intervention, make clearer the support and services expected by its users, and have funding and accountability systems in place that support these aims.The government has done considerable work to engage people and organisations throughout the review, including meeting representatives from Let Us Learn Too and the Disabled Children’s Partnership. The department is committed to testing its proposals publicly through full public consultation in the first quarter of 2022. This consultation will enable it to gather feedback and expertise from a wide range of perspectives, including sector professionals, children, young people and parents, before final decisions are made.

Prime Minister

Veterans: Testing

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Prime Minister, With reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 19 November 2021, official report, column 577, when he plans to meet with the nuclear testing veterans.

Boris Johnson: We are grateful to all those who participated in the British nuclear testing programme which played a valuable role towards developing a nuclear deterrent that has ultimately kept Britain safe for decades. We take our obligations to our personnel extremely seriously and ministers are always open to discussing whether we can do more.My Office is in discussions to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet representatives of the nuclear testing veterans.

Treasury

Pre-school Education: Non-domestic Rates

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional assistance with business rates to nurseries and early years education centres following the end of the Business rates relief: nurseries discount scheme in April 2022.

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason nurseries and early years education providers are explicitly excluded from the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund.

Lucy Frazer: The Government provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, as well as nurseries, during the pandemic given the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on high street footfall and nursery attendance.  In line with the Government roadmap to reopen the economy, nurseries are currently able to receive up to 66 per cent business rates relief until 31 March 2022. Although nurseries are no longer subject to COVID-19 restrictions, the Government will continue to provide support ahead of the revaluation in 2023. Freezing the multiplier for 2022-23 will support all ratepayers ahead of the revaluation in 2023, meaning bills are 3 per cent lower than without the freeze.  The COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund is designed to provide support to those businesses affected by COVID-19 that have not been covered by existing support linked to business rates. Nurseries received a full business rates holiday until 30 June 2021 and can claim a 66 per cent relief for the remainder of this financial year.

Business: Coronavirus

John McNally: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of the equity of his policies on the recovery of fraudulently claimed covid-19 support funds and the pursuance of the retrospective loan charge.

Lucy Frazer: The Covid-19 support funds and the Loan Charge are two distinct polices.In relation to the Covid-19 support funds, throughout the pandemic, the Government’s number one priority has been to protect jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK.The overwhelming majority of people that claimed Covid-19 support did so legitimately. However, HMRC are aware that mistakes can happen, which is why they are supporting people who made a mistake to correct it. Those who keep money claimed from any of the Covid-19 support schemes despite knowing they were not entitled to it face having to repay up to double the amount they received, plus interest, and potentially criminal prosecution in the most serious of cases.The Loan Charge was announced at Budget 2016 and was a new tax charge on disguised remuneration loan balances outstanding on 5 April 2019. The Government recognises the Loan Charge can have a significant impact. Anyone who is worried about being able to pay their Loan Charge liability should contact HMRC. They may be able to agree an instalment arrangement based on their financial circumstances.No comparative assessment of the recovery of Covid-19 support and liabilities related to the Loan Charge has been made, as they are not directly comparable.

Cost of Living: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of increases in the cost of living on people living in York.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government recognises that the pressure households are facing from the cost of living are being felt across the whole of the UK. That is why the government is providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, and an increase in Universal Credit work allowances by £500 p.a. to make work pay, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, as well as the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. Lastly, the government’s Plan for Jobs is helping people into work and giving them the skills they need to progress – the best approach to managing the cost of living in the long term. At Spending Review 2021, to continue to boost employment, wages and living standards, we invested in our most successful Plan for Jobs schemes and introduced a new package of measures – taking the total DWP spend on labour market support to more than £6 billion over the next three years. The Government also recently announced the ‘Way to Work’ campaign to get 500,000 jobseekers into jobs by the end of June. We know work is the best way for people to get on, to improve their lives and support their families because people on benefits are at least £6,000 better off in full time work.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Bahrain: Police

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the workshop on the mechanisms of independent investigations held by The Office of the Ombudsman and the Special Investigation Unit in cooperation with the British Embassy in Bahrain and the Independent Office for Police Conduct in Bahrain in November 2021, from which Government funding stream those workshops were met; and to which budget is the work of the Government programme providing that support allocated.

Amanda Milling: Funding was jointly provided by the United Nations Development Programme in Bahrain and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Gulf Strategy Fund which is a component of the FCDO International Programme. An annual summary of the Gulf Strategy Fund for 2021/22 will be published on gov.uk. Updates will be provided on an annual basis.

Diseases: Research

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when her Department’s plans for its 2022-23 funding of research and development into (a) malaria, (b) tuberculosis and (c) HIV/Aids will be published.

Amanda Milling: Global health remains a priority for UK Official Development Assistance. Our research plans are consistent with the two FCDO position papers published in December 2021 on strengthening health systems and ending preventable deaths of mothers, babies and newborns.FCDO does not routinely announce spending plans for research on specific diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS. However, we do publish details of our research investments as they occur, including in each of these disease areas, at https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/search.Details of our annual expenditure on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS is published via the G-FINDER neglected diseases report https://gfinderdata.policycuresresearch.org/.

Abduljalil al-Singace

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has to respond to the joint-letter from 27 human rights organisations on 17 January 2022, published by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, calling on the Government to make representations to help resolve the case of Dr Abduljalil AlSingace detained in Bahrain.

Amanda Milling: A reply to the letter in question will be issued shortly.

BBC World Service

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the BBC World Service to supporting UK international diplomatic objectives.

Amanda Milling: We strongly value the work of the BBC World Service in promoting our values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting. As part of the announcement on the BBC's Licence Fee, the Culture Secretary made it clear that the BBC should continue to make a substantive investment from the licence fee into the World Service to ensure that it continues to reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world - in English and through its language services. The BBC World Service now reaches 364 million people weekly, an over 40 per cent increase since the FCDO-funded World2020 programme began in 2016 which is invaluable for our soft power and influence globally.

Myanmar: Insurance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with representatives of the insurance industry in the UK on the activities of that industry that fund the Myanmar military.

Amanda Milling: The UK Government is clear that UK businesses must fully comply with relevant sanctions and not enter relationships that benefit the military. Businesses should consult the Department for International Trade's Overseas Business Risk Guidance for further information (Overseas Business Risk: Myanmar (Burma) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

Iran: Detainees

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on which day she last made personal representations to the Iranian Government on (a) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, (b) Anoosheh Ashoori and (c) the other British nationals detained in Iran.

James Cleverly: We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise Iran's practice of detaining British dual nationals with her Iranian counterpart - most recently on 8 November 2021. Our Ambassador in Tehran also continues to raise these cases with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most recently on 26 January.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the safety of religious minorities in Pakistan following the attacks of 30 January 2022 on Pastor William Siraj and Reverend Naeem Patrick.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the 19 June 2014 judgement by the Pakistani Supreme Court on the protection of religious minorities.

James Cleverly: The murder of a Christian priest, and wounding of another, in late January in Peshawar was an indication of the violence faced by Pakistan's minorities - as was the killing in Sialkot of a Christian Sri Lankan national last December. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, and the British High Commissioner have both publicly condemned these attacks, and the High Commissioner has raised with senior Pakistani Government officials. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community, Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs continue to suffer violence and discrimination, including from targeted killings, and damage to their places of worship. The UK has made clear to the Government of Pakistan that freedom of religion of belief remains a priority.The UK welcomed the establishment of Pakistan's National Commission for Minorities in 2020, after the Pakistani Supreme Court mandated that the federal government form a national council for minorities. However we remain concerned that the National Commission for Minorities does not adhere to the UN Paris Principles, specifically on lack of autonomy, resources and investigative powers. We are pressing for passage of a bill to strengthen the minorities' commission so to better align it with the Paris Principles.

Arms Trade: Kazakhstan

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether military goods exported to Kazakhstan were used by government forces against protestors in January 2022.

James Cleverly: The Government takes its strategic export control responsibilities very seriously. We examine every application on a case-by-case basis against strict criteria. Risks around human rights violations and abuses are a key part of our assessment. The Government will not grant a licence for items where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression, or where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We can and do respond quickly and flexibly to changing or fluid international situations. All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard.

Gulf States: Official Visits

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of the visit of Gulf foreign ministers to Chevening House on 20 December 2021.

Amanda Milling: The FCDO publishes the costs related to overseas visits, incoming visits and events hosted by the Foreign Secretary as part of the Quarterly Transparency Return https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/minister-data#2020. We will release the costs for this event in due course as per the usual timeline.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Hunting

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of trail hunting on the defence estate.

Mr Ben Wallace: Trail hunting is a legal and licenced activity and is treated in the same manner as all other licenced activities.

Veterans: Health Services

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve the medical discharge process for veterans.

Leo Docherty: Medical discharge policy is delegated to the single Services to afford each branch of the Armed Forces the necessary flexibility to respond effectively to the unique and varying environments in which their people are employed.Royal Navy:As part of the People Transformation and Modernisation Programme, the Royal Navy established a “Leave Well” project in 2021, focused on delivering improvements to the Service Leaver processes and mechanisms. This work is focused around improving the through-career development and skills of individuals whilst in Service, as well as the provisions made to assist during career transition, giving them the tools and confidence needed to better prepare for life as a civilian.British Army: The Army supports Service personnel in recovery and seeks to enact the most effective transition to civilian life and employment for those undergoing medical discharge/retirement action. The timelines for the discharge are carefully considered on an individual basis by the Full Medical Board when determining the last day of service. Taking into consideration the medical care pathway, individual last days of service are routinely deferred for up to 12 months, and beyond in exceptional circumstances. The Army acknowledges that clinical recovery is complex and there may be occasions in which an individual’s Defence Medical Services healthcare cannot be easily transferred to NHS providers within the usual timeframe. In such cases an application for an extension in service on medical grounds can be made which, if policy compliant, will enable an extension to support healthcare transition. Royal Air Force (RAF): The medical discharge process is a generous system with a long lead in time (at least 12-18 months) before a Service person is presented to the RAF Medical Board (RAFMB) for an assessment/decision, even when it may be obvious that a discharge is inevitable. This allows time for adjustment and to ensure that all reasonable attempts have been made to return the Service person to a level required for meaningful work. The RAF retains Service personnel where they can still offer sufficient performance; only approximately 15 percent of Service personnel attending the RAFMB are recommended for medical discharge. Personnel who are recommended for medical discharge can take periods of leave, including resettlement leave and invaliding leave, often adding a further eight to ten months of paid service before the date of discharge. The medical discharge process may span two and half years from the initial injury/illness through to discharge date. Improvements to the process include the option of remote RAFMB appointments, ensuring that the medical discharge process is transparent and subject to scrutiny; that Service personnel know what their rights to appeal against a decision are, and that those who are medically discharged are allowed sufficient time to complete their resettlement training and recovery courses.

Department for Work and Pensions

Invalid Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claim for mobility vehicles that are electric cars; and what impact assessment has been carried out on the effect of electricity price rises on their continued affordability.

Chloe Smith: Motability is an independent charitable organization that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Motability Scheme. DWP is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. The Motability Scheme is open to anyone who qualifies for higher rate mobility component for Disability Living Allowance, the enhanced rate of the mobility component for Personal Independence Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment or War Pensioners Mobility Supplement. Eligible claimants in receipt of one of these allowances can choose to join the Motability scheme, and in exchange for part or all of their mobility component they receive a leased car, wheelchair or powered chair/scooter.

Work Capability Assessment

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been waiting longer than three months for a work capability assessment as of 9 February 2022.

Chloe Smith: The requested data is not held.

Work Capability Assessment

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is from a claimant making an application to receiving a decision on their work capability assessment for the most recent period available.

Chloe Smith: The Department publishes Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessment (WCA) statistics on gov.uk which can be found here. The median ESA WCA customer journey processing times for initial claims can be found in section 10 of the latest statistical bulletin. The statistics include the average time taken for the full end-to-end process. More details can also be found in Table 1 of the ‘Clearance Times for Initial Claims’ dataset in the ESA Work Capability Assessments section of Stat-Xplore. Guidance for users is available here. The information for Universal Credit WCA processing times is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Waste Disposal

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that U1 waste exemptions are not being used to dispose of waste illegally.

Jo Churchill: The Environment Agency undertakes a risk-based approach and may inspect U1 sites if it receives intelligence or complaints suggesting illegal activity. The Government is currently reviewing the waste exemptions element within the environmental permitting regime to prevent the use of exemptions, including the U1 exemption, to cover illegal activity. A Government response will be published in the spring. The Environment Agency is also developing a charges scheme for 2024, which will help fund proactive compliance assessment at exempt sites.

Waste Disposal

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of discontinuing the use of U1 waste exemptions.

Jo Churchill: In 2018, Defra and the Welsh Government consulted on reforming the waste exemptions element in the environmental permitting regime to prevent the use of exemptions to cover illegal activity. The consultation specifically asked whether the Government should keep the U1 exemption with no changes to its conditions, change the exemption (amend its conditions) or remove the exemption and require activities it covers to be carried out under an environmental permit. A Government response to the consultation was published on 26 November 2018. However, because of the breadth of impacts that will result from changing these exemptions, and the implications for different business practices that can emerge from relatively minor technical changes, Defra and the Welsh Government have been further considering the impacts of the proposed changes. A supplementary Government response will be published in the spring.

Home Office

Asylum

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum decisions her Department made without substantive asylum interviews in the past 12 months.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office are unable to state how many asylum decisions have been made without substantive asylum interviews in the past 12 months as this information is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on a case by case basis, irrespective of their nationality or group, based on their individual merits, against a background of relevant case law and up to date country information.In most asylum cases we will ask the claimant to complete a Preliminary Information Questionnaire (PIQ). The information contained in the PIQ (or Statement of Evidence Form for children) will be used alongside all of the other evidence already held about the claim to help determine whether or not it is appropriate to omit an asylum interview.The criteria for when a substantive asylum interview can be omitted are contained in Paragraph 339NA of the Immigration Rules and include cases where we are able to take a positive decision on the basis of evidence available, or if the claimant is unfit or unable to be interviewed owing to enduring circumstances beyond their control. It would be inappropriate to adopt a blanket approach to certain nationalities or groups because of the differing circumstances of each claim.

Maira Shahbaz

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to advance the Asylum case of Christian Pakistani girl, Maira Shahbaz, and her family who have been in hiding for 18 months.

Kevin Foster: It is longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases, especially where doing so may put individuals or their family members in danger.

Visas: Applications

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of when the visa application of 28 August 2021, number 1212-0001-1687-2836/00 with GWF061763452, will be determined; and whether the applicant's passport can be returned in the meantime.

Kevin Foster: The case has been completed and a decision has been issued.

Ahmed Jaafar Mohamed Ali

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to reports of the unlawful extradition of Ahmed Jaafar Mohammed Ali from Serbia to Bahrain on 24 January 2022 on the basis of an Interpol red notice, what assessment the she has made of the implications for her policies of that extradition.

Damian Hinds: In the UK, the Extradition Act 2003 ensures that all individual extradition requests are subject to the same statutory criteria regardless of where the request is from, or the terms of any international agreement that is in place. As extradition cases are subject to judicial process, it is for the UK courts to consider all relevant legal issues and determine whether extradition is appropriate, based on the safeguards and protections afforded within the Act. A requested person will not be extradited if doing so would breach their human rights, if the request is politically motivated, or if they would be at risk of facing the death penalty.Any misuse of INTERPOL is taken very seriously by this Government. The UK continues to support INTERPOL’s efforts to ensure systems are in place to protect individuals’ rights and uphold Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution, which forbids the organisation to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.

Asylum

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cessation of international protection decisions were made by the UK in 2021 (a) in total, (b) by nationality of applicant and (c) by applicant's protection status.

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many withdrawal of international protection decisions were made by the UK in 2021 (a) in total and (b) by the (i) nationality and (ii) protection status of the applicant.

Kevin Foster: Information regarding the number of cessations or withdrawals of international protection decisions made by the UK in 2021, and the nationality, and protection status of each applicant subject to those decisions, is not held centrally and to obtain it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

UK Visas and Immigration

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UKVI MP Account Management cases are currently outstanding past the 20 working day response target.

Kevin Foster: The Department works to a target of responding to 95% of Hon. Members written correspondence within 20 working days.Performance has been impacted by a very significant increase in the volume of correspondence received, including the unprecedented amount of correspondence about the situation in Afghanistan. Ministers and officials have also had to instigate a remote process for drafting and signing correspondence during the period of COVID-19 restrictions.The Department recognises it has not been able to meet service standard in some cases but has implemented an action plan to clear backlogs and drive up performance. The Department has recruited additional resources and expects to return to answering Hon. Member’s correspondence within service standard by the end of March 2022.Data about intake and performance in answering Hon. Members correspondence are published quarterly with the latest Quarter available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-q3-2021This includes data up to and including the end of quarter 3 - 2021.

Asylum: Employment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applicants were granted permission to work in the UK in 2021.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people seeking asylum were in employment in 2021.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office are unable to state how many people seeking asylum were in employment in 2021 or how many asylum applicants were granted permission to work in 2021 as this information is not published and is only held on paper case files or within the notes sections of the Home Office's databases. Therefore, the number of asylum seekers granted permission to work is not held in a reportable format.

Asylum: Mental Health Services

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps in response to the finding in the 2022 report by the British Red Cross and the VOICES Network, entitled We want to be strong, but we don’t have the chance, that the UK’s asylum system is not sensitive to gender or trauma needs.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps in response to finding in the 2022 report by the British Red Cross and VOICES Network, entitled We want to be strong but we don’t have the chance, that her Department is not offering women the option to be interviewed by another woman for their asylum interviews.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Nationality and Borders Bill on women and girls seeking asylum in the UK.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of responses to the consultation on the New Plan for Immigration that expressed concerns about the impact that plan could have on women and girls seeking asylum in the UK.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to involve more women who have first-hand experience of seeking asylum in future reforms to the UK’s asylum system.

Kevin Foster: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to the most vulnerable people in genuine need, including women, and this will not change. This government remains committed to delivering a gender-sensitive asylum system ensuring that all those who seek asylum are treated with dignity and respect.The Nationality and Borders Bill will deliver the Government’s New Plan for Immigration – the most comprehensive reform in decades, to fix the broken asylum system. The reformed asylum system will continue to strive to provide a system which is sensitive to gender and trauma-related needs, for example continuing to provide the opportunity for all those claiming asylum to be interviewed by an individual of the same gender and a trauma informed approach to actively avoid the re-traumatisation whilst an individual is in the asylum system.We are taking into account the recently received report ‘We want to be strong’, commissioned research, experiences of those seeking asylum and welcome engagement through our stakeholder networks. Engagement, including on the New Plan for Immigration, is already underway, as we build a system that is fair, but firm; that safeguards those who may be vulnerable; and protects against any unintended consequences.We will continue to support conversations on improving the health of refugees and asylum seekers via the Refugee Council chaired Mental Health Forum. This forum is informed by representatives from across the NGO sector, Home Office, Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement bringing those with customer informed insight together to consider approaches to mental health support.

Refugees: Hotels

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the food provided by Serco at hotels accommodating refugees caters for people who require halal.

Kevin Foster: Where full board accommodation is provided by the provider for asylum seeking service users, food provisions are required to meet the dietary, cultural and religious needs of those accommodated.

Asylum: Families

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals and families did not receive Section 95 support but were granted refugee status in 2021.

Kevin Foster: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers on Asylum Support. These statistics can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which shows families who did not receive section 95 support and have been granted refugee status in 2021. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Housing

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of living conditions of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their asylum claim.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of facilities available to asylum seekers staying at National Asylum Support Service accommodation in Selly Oak constituency.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office sets clear standards for our accommodation providers, who are contractually obliged to provide adequate accommodation and to conduct regular quality assurance checks across the asylum estate. Robust compliance and governance protocols exist to ensure daily engagement is undertaken with our service providers by Home Office officials to ensure and assure the providers’ operational delivery and overall performance consistently meet the required standards. If any issues are identified providers are required to take immediate action to address and recover accordingly. In response to the global pandemic, officials also have formal weekly meetings to ensure individuals are housed safely, services are delivered in line with their contractual obligations and with adherence to guidance from UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and where appropriate Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC) is followed. Asylum seekers can also raise specific issues or concerns about their accommodation through the 24/7 Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service operated via Migrant Help.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Vagrancy Act 1824

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains absolutely committed to delivering on our manifesto commitment to ending rough sleeping, and as part of that, complete our review of the Vagrancy Act 1824.We agree that the Vagrancy Act 1824 is antiquated and no longer fit for purpose - that is why we have committed to repeal this outdated Act. However, we must balance our role in providing essential support for the vulnerable with ensuring that we do not weaken the ability of the police to protect communities.Therefore, while we have tabled an amendment in lieu that provides for the 1824 Act to be repealed in full in England and Wales, we will ensure that the repeal is not commenced until appropriate replacement legislation is in place. In the meantime, we will deliver a bold, new strategy to end rough sleeping which will set out how we will build on recent success and ensure rough sleeping is prevented in the first instance and is effectively responded to in the rare cases where it does occur, but also that our police have the ability to intervene where needed and to keep people safe.

Veterans: Sleeping Rough

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24, what funding will be allocated to end veteran rough sleeping within this Parliament.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 to end veteran rough sleeping within this Parliament, what data his Department plans to us to measure the success of the Government's ambition to end veteran rough sleeping within this Parliament.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 stated goal to end veteran rough sleeping within this Parliament, what steps his Department are taking to improve pathways of support.

Eddie Hughes: The government is committed to ending rough sleeping, including veteran rough sleeping, and we are spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years. Our veterans play a vital role in keeping our country safe and we are committed to ensuring that they are provided with all the support they need to successfully adjust back into civilian life.We are providing local areas with the support and funding they need to provide tailored support to respond to the needs of those sleeping rough in their areas, including where some may have served in the Armed Forces. Through the Rough Sleeping Initiative, we have provided over £200 million this year to local authorities to make sure they can continue to provide tailored local interventions for rough sleepers in their area.The key objective of the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP), backed by £433 million, is to provide 6,000 move-on homes and accompanying support services to those who are rough sleeping, or who have a history of sleeping rough, including veterans.Through the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC), the Department collects data on the support needs of households owed a prevention or relief duty, including if they have served in Her Majesty’s Forces. H-CLIC also collects the number of people homeless on departure from Armed Forces Accommodation.HCLIC Data shows that for the year 2020-21, 1,730 veterans were owed a homelessness duty out of the 268,560 total households who were homeless or at risk of homelessness. This is down from 1,920 households in 2019-20. We will continue to monitor this data carefully.

Veterans: Homelessness

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of veterans in the UK who are homeless in each year since 2019.

Eddie Hughes: The Government is committed to tackling all forms of homelessness and levels of veteran homelessness are low. Data shows that for the year 2020-21, 1,730 veterans were owed a homelessness duty out of the 268,560 total households who were homeless or at risk of homelessness. This is down from 1,920 households in 2019-20The data is not yet available for 2021-22.

Veterans: Sleeping Rough

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the prevalence of veteran rough sleeping throughout the UK.

Eddie Hughes: We are committed to tackling homelessness in all its forms, and this Government has committed to ending rough sleeping. The Department uses rough sleeping and homelessness data collections to drive progress and to monitor trends of the homelessness and rough sleeping population, including veterans. Our veterans play a vital role in keeping our country safe and we are committed to supporting this cohort.Through the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC), the Department collects data on the support needs of households owed a prevention or relief duty, including if they have served in Her Majesty’s Forces. H-CLIC also collects the number of people homeless on departure from institution, one of which is Armed Forces Accommodation.Levels of Veteran homelessness are low, the most recent H-CLIC statistics, for the period June to September 2021, are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness. The latest homelessness statistics in England show that in this period, of the 67,820 households owed a homelessness duty, 450 (0.66%) households had a support need as a result of serving in the Armed Forces.

Rented Housing: Reform

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to publish its White Paper on renters' reforms.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains committed to building back fairer and having a better deal for renters. We will publish a white paper this Spring that will set out the Government's plans to introduce once-in-a-generation reforms to create a fairer private rented sector (PRS).We want to improve the overall experience of renters and landlords as well as local authorities who play an invaluable role in enforcing the PRS.We are currently undertaking extensive and wide-ranging engagement with tenants and landlords, key delivery partners such as local authorities as well as key stakeholders to inform the reform programme.

Cabinet Office

NSO Group: Software

Layla Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has purchased Pegasus software from NSO Group since 2016.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: While we cannot comment on operational specifics, the UK’s intelligence agencies are governed by a robust regulatory framework to ensure our capabilities are always used in a way that is legal, necessary and proportionate - something we ask of all nations. We continue to promote with our international partners the need for tighter export controls to ensure cyber capabilities are used legally and responsibly and do not threaten or undermine human rights.

Veterans: Disability Aids

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the closure of the Veterans Mobility Fund on (a) veterans and (b) veterans charities.

Leo Docherty: The Veterans Mobility Fund was launched in 2016 with a five-year commitment of £3 million from LIBOR fines, to support veterans with Service-related serious physical injury. The Government is committed to ensuring there is no gap in provision for those who relied on the Mobility Fund. The NHS has a range of mobility equipment which meets the clinical needs experienced by veterans, which includes Personal Health Budgets for Wheelchairs.

Investigation into Alleged Gatherings on Government Premises during Covid Restrictions

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the Second Permanent Secretary's investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid-19 restrictions, as of 31 January 2022.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 February to PQ115945 to the hon. Member for York Central.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many officials in her Department are working on the negotiations on the application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arms Trade: Kazakhstan

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has revised its licensing of military goods for export to Kazakhstan in the context of protests in Kazakhstan in January 2022.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: All licences – to all markets – are kept under careful and continual review and we are able to suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require. An export licence will not be granted (or, if extant, it would be revoked) if it is incompatible with any of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. This includes Criterion 2a, which assesses whether there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.

Trade Agreements: Greater Manchester

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on how people in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester can benefit from trade agreements signed by the Government.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Trade is a driving force behind job creation and higher living standards for people and communities across the United Kingdom, including in Stockport and Greater Manchester. My Department has agreed trade deals with 70 countries plus the EU, covering trade worth £772 billion in 2020, delivering benefits for communities across the country. For example, the trade deal with Australia could boost the economy of the north west of England by around £190 million (in 2019 terms).

Gulf Co-operation Council: Overseas Trade

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many responses her Department received in response to its consultation, Trade with the Gulf Co-operation Council: call for input.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: 147.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gamstop

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement that GAMSTOP, an industry-funded organisation, will be operating a single customer view trial, if she will take steps to ensure that the upcoming Gambling White Paper makes provision for affordability to be assessed by an organisation independent of the industry, which is able to make proactive and informed interventions utilising relevant data.

Chris Philp: The Gambling Commission received over 13,000 responses to its consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction (including on issues to do with affordability) and has published an interim update on its website outlining next steps. We will continue to work closely with them on affordability in the run up to publishing our White Paper which will set out our vision for the sector.

Gambling: Regulation

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans to address the regulatory differences between the online and land-based gambling sectors in the forthcoming Gambling White Paper.

Chris Philp: The Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led. Our terms of reference can be found at the link here.A core objective of the review is to ensure that customers are suitably protected whenever and wherever they are gambling, and that there is an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries. We will publish a white paper setting out our planned proposals for the online and land-based gambling sectors in the coming months.

Press: Regulation

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending the definition of news-related material in the Online Safety Bill to ensure that content produced by all IPSO regulated publications, including specialist magazine titles, is exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties.

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the recommendation of the Joint Committee scrutinising the Online Safety Bill that the exemption for news publisher content should be amended to cover consumer and business magazines, what steps her Department has taken to engage with industry bodies to create a definition of news-related material that encompasses IPSO-regulated specialist publishers.

Chris Philp: Online Safety legislation has been designed to safeguard access to journalistic content. News publishers’ content will be exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties. The criteria against which an organisation qualifies as a publisher is set in the draft Online Safety Bill. If an organisation meets these criteria, then its content will be exempt. The criteria is clear that it captures news publishers' whose principal purpose is the publication of news-related material.The Bill will also impose a duty on the biggest and riskiest companies, Category 1 companies, to safeguard all journalistic content shared on their platform. Through this duty, these platforms will need to have systems in place to ensure they take into account the importance of the free expression of journalistic content when operating their services. These protections will cover specialist publishers such as consumer and business magazines, where they are engaged in journalism.

British Telecom

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with British Telecom following Storms Arwen, Malik and Corrie on the rollout of the BT Digital Voice.

Julia Lopez: DCMS has frequent discussions with the BT Group, and others, to discuss a range of issues, including resilience to storms and the migration to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP).Through the Electronic Communications Resilience & Response Group, DCMS is working with Ofcom, BT, and other providers to complete a Post-Incident Review following Storms Arwen, Malik and Corrie. We will carefully consider the findings and work with the telecoms sector to understand where improvements can be made in future.DCMS is also engaged in regular discussions with BT and other providers regarding the migration from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to VoIP services. The PSTN is an outdated technology, and becoming difficult to replace and repair due to a lack of spare parts. Given it cannot be maintained, it will become increasingly unreliable.While the PSTN upgrade is an industry-led process, the government is also working with Ofcom to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the upgrade process. This also includes close engagement with the emergency services, such as the Police, the NHS and the Fire Brigade.

Broadband and Mobile Phones: Prices

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the level of public awareness of social tariffs.

Julia Lopez: There are a range of social tariff products currently available to over 5 million households in receipt of Universal Credit support, and other means tested benefits. These offers are available to eligible households in over 99% of the country.In July 2021, Ofcom reported take-up of social tariffs to be between approximately 1-2% of eligible households, so we are aware that more can be done to increase consumer awareness and encourage take-up of these offers.We welcome increased promotion and consumer signposting of the social tariff products by providers such as BT, Virgin Media O2 and Hyperoptic.DCMS is also working closely with colleagues across the government, including the Department for Work & Pensions and the Department for Education, to raise consumer awareness of social tariffs through local stakeholder channels to ensure that the individuals who may be eligible for social tariffs are made aware of the support available to them.

Social Media: Bullying and Defamation

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to ensure that social media companies remove content that (a) bullies and (b) defames people on their platforms in a timely manner.

Chris Philp: The Government published the draft Online Safety Bill in May 2021, which places new legal duties on tech companies, including social media platforms, to protect their users.All companies in scope will need to tackle illegal abuse by making sure it is taken down quickly when they are aware of it and by using systems and processes to minimise the risk of similar material appearing. Services which are likely to be accessed by children will need to provide safety measures for child users, including from cyberbullying. Major platforms will also need to address legal but harmful content for adults. Ofcom as the regulator will be able to take enforcement action, including large fines, against companies who do not comply with their duties.The draft Bill has been subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee which reported its recommendations on 14 December. We are considering the Committee’s recommendations and are committed to introducing the Bill shortly.

TikTok: Bullying and Defamation

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the use of Tik Tok by pupils in schools to (a) cyberbully and (b) defame (i) other pupils and (ii) teachers.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the serious risks that pupils and teachers face online. The Department for Education’s COVID-19 Parent and Pupil Panel Survey, published in October 2021, found that 6% of pupils in years 6-13 reported that they had experienced online bullying in the 12 months up to July 2021. Furthermore, Ofcom’s Internet Users’ Experience of Potential Online Harms Survey conducted in early 2020 found that 1% of children aged 12-15 who had experienced bullying, abusive behaviour and threats cited TikTok as the platform on which this occurred.The Government is also deeply concerned by reports related to the abuse of teachers on TikTok. The upcoming Online Safety Bill will ensure that online platforms, including TikTok, do much more to protect their users, including from online bullying and abuse. The strongest protections in the legislation are for children.

Platinum Jubilee 2022: Medals

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether volunteers in the Red Cross will be eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether volunteers in the Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps will be eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether volunteers in the St John Ambulance will be eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether volunteers in the St Andrew's First Aid will be eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether volunteers in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution will be eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Chris Philp: Of the volunteers you ask about, only Royal National Lifeboat Institute volunteers are eligible for the Platinum Jubilee Medal.To qualify for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal recipients must be in an eligible public sector role in a frontline emergency service accessed via a call to the 999 emergency telephone number, or equivalent.Individual departments, the Devolved Administrations and Crown Dependencies are responsible for applying the criteria and making eligibility decisions regarding the award of the Medal to their staff and other organisations that fall under their sponsorship. The criteria are in line with that of the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.